Convicted Murderer, 71, Gets 20 Years for Huge Drug Deals

A 71-year old Meriden man accused of smuggling truckloads of cocaine worth millions of dollars into Connecticut was sentenced Thursday to 20 years in prison.

Armando Cardona's lawyer called the punishment a "death sentence."

But federal prosecutors said prison is where Cardona, a convicted murderer and a career criminal, belongs. While serving his last sentence in New York, Cardona stabbed another inmate while arranging the sale of kilograms of cocaine from within the prison.

"Even a jail sentence has not been enough to deter this defendant from committing major criminal acts," said Assistant U.S. Attorney S. Dave Vatti. "This defendant is the classic example of a violent recidivist offender. He has spent most of the past 39 years in prison. Given his track record and the serious criminal conduct in this case, prison is where he belongs."

Senior U.S. District Judge Alfred V. Covello sentenced Cardona Thursday in Hartford for conspiracy to possess and possession of with intent to sell large supplies of cocaine. A jury convicted him after a trial in June.

Agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration said Cardona hired a truck driver in December 2009 to pick up 30 kilograms or about 66 pounds of cocaine in Phoenix and transport it to Meriden.

The driver and Cardona packed the drugs into a secret "trap" beneath the driver's seat and the driver headed east after picking up a legitimate load to cover the trip. But the drugs were detected when the driver was stopped for a traffic violation in Russellville, Ark.

Faced with arrest, the driver identified Cardona to authorities and admitted the load was the second, 30 kilogram shipment Cardona had paid him to carry to Meriden.

After arresting him the federal drug agents put the put the unidentified driver back in his truck with instructions continue on to Meriden. Authorities arrested Cardona and another man, Andres Alvarez, when they arrived to meet the truck and take possession of the drugs at the Meriden Inn.

The U.S. Attorney's office said the wholesale value of 60 kilos of cocaine is in excess of $1.8 million. During a search of Cardona's Bradley Avenue home following his arrest, authorities found about $372,000 in cash.

The driver said Cardona paid him $30,000 per trip.

Cardona was convicted of a murder in New York City in 1973 and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Because of the length of time that has passed since the crime, detailed records of the crime are no longer available.

In 1987, while he was locked up, Cardona was sentenced to up to three years more for stabbing another inmate. In 1990, he was convicted of arranging kilogram quantity drug sales from prison.

Cardona's lawyer, Bernard Grossberg, tried but failed to persuade Covello to impose a ten year sentence, which the lawyer said might enable Cardona to get out of prison alive. Grossberg said Cardona suffers from an array of health problem, many associated with his morbid obesity.